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Daily Bible Study

Daily Bible Study March 24, 2002

Scripture and Footnotes, and Summary:

Online Bible courtesy of Gospelcom.net
See Romans
2 in the New King James Version
See Romans
2 in the New International Version

Beginning study on Romans Chapter 2

Part 3

17 But if you bear the name "Jew" and rely upon the Law
and boast in God,
18 and know His will and approve the things that are essential,
being instructed out of the Law,
19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the
blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature,
having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,
21 you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach
yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal?
22 You who say that one should not commit adultery, do
you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the
Law, do you dishonor God?
24 For "THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES
BECAUSE OF YOU," just as it is written.

Commentary:

In this passage, Paul is starting to
build his rigorous case for what salvation really is. He is taking
aim at those who trust in the Law, that it will make them right.
He says that they boast in the Law, but they dishonour God by breaking
that same Law.Jesus made a similar point to the
Pharisees in John 5:42, where He says, "For I have known you, that the
love of God you have not in yourselves." In Matthew 23, Jesus warns
His disciples that while they should keep the teachings of the law, they
should not follow after the way of the Pharisees, who teach but do not
do, and who make life a burden for others but don't try to help lift the
load.James in James 1:22 urges us to be doers
of the word and not hearers only.

Summary of Today's Study:

We see a continuation of the theme that God
is a rewarder of those who DO his will. While the scriptures talk about
being rewarded with eternal life, we are not talking about salvation by
works, which will be obvious in later chapters. However, having laid
this foundation, when Paul starts to teach about grace, can we think that
it will be anything different than an empowering to do what we should do?Note that on different days,
the placement of the commentary on the page will vary. Sometimes,
I will use the left pane and sometimes the right pane.How are you coming at writing out, or
even memorizing scripture? This is the best way to study!

Romans Study: Questions, Commentary, and more:

Romans is a primer on
the relationship of the Believer to The Lord Jesus Christ.

Today we are continuing with our study
on Chapter 2 of Romans.

Keep in mind, as we study,
that we want to address:

1. How am I saved?

2. Can I lose my salvation (that
is, if I commit a sin, will I find I am no longer saved)?

3. If I keep on sinning, will
I be saved?

4. Is there victory over sin?

5. If I neglect my relationship
with the Lord Jesus, what happens to my salvation?

6. Once I am saved, do I have
license to keep on sinning?

The further issues are:

7. Once I am saved, how do I
keep from sinning?

8. Is it something I do, and
thus it becomes an issue of pride? Or is it a work that God does in our
lives?

9. Can we ever expect to overcome
sin? If we do, how does it happen? How are we set free?

10. If a person backslides in
his faith, and doesn't come back to vibrant Christian faith, is he saved
if he is in that condition when he dies?

Now Paul is starting to talk about not
continuing in sin. You may say, he was talking to the Jew about not
relying on the Law. But I think he is also touching on questions
3 and 6, regarding sinning when we claim to be saved. Paul is leading
up to something here.

What is happening here?

Paul continues to point out that it is not
enough to have knowlege of the Law. He points out that it discredits
God among the Gentiles when they teach one thing, but do another.
Again, it is not enough to know the truth. Jesus says that those
who do the will of His Father who will be saved.

Paul is building up to something which
he will begin to unveil in Chapter 3. is teaching that salvation
is conditional to those who "by persistence in doing good seek glory,
honor and immortality."

Paul is also laying the groundwork for
his further teaching. So far, we are getting a picture of the need
to continue to live in that new life that Christ gives us. And if
we ahve any doubt what that means, Paul is emphasizing it as a life of
doing good, and not just knowing the truth.

Scripture is quoted
today from the New American Standard Bible. We work with various
versions, because we believe that being well studied in the scripture will
enable us to rightly divide the word of truth. We encourage you to do likewise,
because of the insights we have gotten. Familiarize yourself with one,
and then go on to use others.

My commentary
is copyrightRick
Galbraith, March 23, 2002. It is
my "daily devotions," my own study of the Scriptures, and you are invited
to share it with me.